Computational Fluid Dynamics Can Model Your Sneezing

There’s so much stuff on the internet! How do you know what’s reliable and what’s not?

I’d be rich if I knew the answer to that, but there are tells. Software Cradle, for example, specializes in computational fluid dynamics and is a division of MSC Software, a global corporation that designs simulation software technology. That seems like a decent pedigree. It doesn’t mean that everything they produce is correct, but it probably means it isn’t junk either. So here is their simulation of a sneeze using their scFLOW software:

If this simulation is correct, the value of a mask isn’t that it reduces the amount of virus you shed, but that it redirects it. It mostly stays near you instead of being projected in the direction of other people.

As always, I’d love to see further research/modeling on this.

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